Large round balers are known which include a baling chamber defined by fixed side walls between which extend a plurality of rolls, some of which are mounted on stationary axes and some of which are mounted on movable axes, and over which belts can be conducted. Some of the rolls are rotatably mounted to a carrier, that in turn, is pivotally mounted to the baler side walls. The belts also extend over rolls on a tensioning arm that is constantly forced into a position that applies tension to the belts. The advantage of this configuration lies in the fact that the carrier with the small number of rolls is light and does not require large positioning forces. The disadvantage, however, is that the carrier must be raised through a large distance in order to permit the finished bale to be ejected, particularly since a second set of belts is provided in the floor region on which the cylindrical bale rests during its formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,309 discloses a large round baler with only a single set of belts that are conducted over rolls on stationary axes and rolls on movable axes whose position can be varied in a fixed housing and a pivoted housing part. A tensioning arm is also provided that always maintains tension on the belts. The disadvantage of this configuration lies in the high positioning forces that are required in order to raise the movable housing part and the large positioning path that is needed in order to be able to eject the cylindrical bale from the baling chamber.
The prospectus VERMEER 504 HE, no publication date, shows a large round baler in which the pivot point of a carrier extending outside the baling chamber is located nearly in the region of the center of the baling chamber. In the outer region of the carrier, an arm is provided on which several rolls are located over which belts are conducted that can penetrate into the baling chamber. In this case, the tensioning arrangement forms several loops in which harvested crop can accumulate and cause problems.
The unpublished U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/163,156, filed 4 Jun. 2002, discloses a large round baler with fixed side walls outside of which arms are attached that can pivot vertically, to which two rolls are attached that are spaced at a distance from each other. Along with belts conducted over them, the rolls simultaneously form the floor of the baling chamber and can be brought into a raised position along the edges of two side walls in which a sufficiently large opening to the ground rapidly develops, through which the cylindrical bale can be ejected. A tensioning arm is provided in the forward region of the large round baler and is equipped with a spring loaded roll over, which the belts extend in the form of a loop.
From the unpublished DE 101 53 540.6, a large round baler is known whose baling means are conducted over rotating rolls on stationary axes, and in particular, rotating rolls retained in a pivoted carrier with fixed side walls. The carrier is part of an outlet gate and is provided with a rotating body about which the baling means forms a loop and can be retained during the ejection of the bale.